Preview — Understanding Stocks
by Michael Sincere

Understanding Stocks

Revised and updated--the new edition of the stock investing classic is packed with powerful new strategies for today's market realities

"Understanding Stocks, Second Edition" gives you the information you need to do everything from opening an account to making informed decisions when evaluating stocks and making trades. New chapters cover short selling, alternative investmeRevised and updated--the new edition of the stock investing classic is packed with powerful new strategies for today's market realities

"Understanding Stocks, Second Edition" gives you the information you need to do everything from opening an account to making informed decisions when evaluating stocks and making trades. New chapters cover short selling, alternative investments such as commodities and bonds, and candlestick charting.

Michael Sincere is a full-time columnist, writer, and author of nine books, including "The After-Hours Trader, Understanding Options," and "All About Market Indicators."...more

Community Reviews

What I liked in this book is that it is really simple in the way it explains the basics of investing and trading in stock market and how it operates for the ones that have no idea what the stock market is all about. Whether you want to start in this field or just curious about this topic, I highly recommend it to you as the stock market is the backbone of the economy.

Great information in here not just for newbie traders. He gives you many valuable resources to help in researching companies for long term investments and short term strategies. It is also a great primer if you are completely new to indicators and technical trading off the charts. The only thing you will not read much about here is risk management, which I believe is a huge reason why most traders fail. Otherwise it is a solid book.

This is a good book I picked up at the library for reviewing basic fundamentals regarding stocks and the market. Remember how to calculate a P/E ratio and what it means? What about ROE, EPS, analysts upgrades and downgrades? Do you know how to read a stock chart? What is support and resistance?

However, this book turned out to be very interesting because it was published between the technology crash/recession of 2000 and the real estate bubble/banking crash/recession that hit in 2008. It was fascThis is a good book I picked up at the library for reviewing basic fundamentals regarding stocks and the market. Remember how to calculate a P/E ratio and what it means? What about ROE, EPS, analysts upgrades and downgrades? Do you know how to read a stock chart? What is support and resistance?

However, this book turned out to be very interesting because it was published between the technology crash/recession of 2000 and the real estate bubble/banking crash/recession that hit in 2008. It was fascinating to note the mistakes which many made regarding the events in 2000 and how this book attempted to prevent others from making similar mistakes in the future. Now as a reader, once can look on this advice with the clear benefit of history regarding the events of 2008.

Read a book like this and reflect on the recent market recovery since March 2009. Even more interesting, think about the current bull market which started in the Fall of 2010 combined with ongoing daily concerns over state budgets and the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East.

Could rising oil prices and domestic uncertainty cause many to lose the paper gains they may have made since the Fall of 2010?

One might ask if it is time to sell, move to cash and wait for events to unfold..........more

This is good first book to read for any one interested in stock market. It introduces basics ideas involved in how to invest in stocks, and some general advises about whether and how to invest in stocks. The concepts and ideas discussed are comprehensive but at basic level and easy to understand. I personally liked the comprehensiveness and easiness since that's what I am looking for in an introductory book - being introduced to all necessary concepts without diving into details. That's being saThis is good first book to read for any one interested in stock market. It introduces basics ideas involved in how to invest in stocks, and some general advises about whether and how to invest in stocks. The concepts and ideas discussed are comprehensive but at basic level and easy to understand. I personally liked the comprehensiveness and easiness since that's what I am looking for in an introductory book - being introduced to all necessary concepts without diving into details. That's being said, if you are looking for some advanced techniques for fundamental or technique analysis, this is probably not your book. ...more

A good overview of equities for the beginner. Some sections are not particularly detailed, but for the most part this is a good start. The author offers a good list of recommendations of what to read after this.If you are past general "investment advice" books, this is a great start for understanding equities.

I read this book in high school and it was a perfect resource for the time.

The first page of the book literally goes to answer "What is the stock market?" Shortly followed by "What is a stock?" and "How do I buy a stock?" Later, it explains common terms and metrics used in market and eventually it covers several investing strategies.

(187 pages) This book explains to the average person what the stock market is and how it works. This really helped me begin to understand what exactly the stock market is and why it's so important. I would suggest this book to read if you don't know anything about the stock market. Great book!

Michael Sincere (www.michaelsincere.com) is the author of a number of investment and trading books, including "Understanding Stocks 2E" (McGraw-Hill) the bestselling "Understanding Options 2E" (McGraw-Hill), "All About Market Indicators" (McGraw-Hill), and "Start Day Trading Now" (Adams Media).

Sincere has written hundreds of columns and magazine articles on investing and trading, including a monthMichael Sincere (www.michaelsincere.com) is the author of a number of investment and trading books, including "Understanding Stocks 2E" (McGraw-Hill) the bestselling "Understanding Options 2E" (McGraw-Hill), "All About Market Indicators" (McGraw-Hill), and "Start Day Trading Now" (Adams Media).

Sincere has written hundreds of columns and magazine articles on investing and trading, including a monthly column for MarketWatch, "The Long-Term Trader."

He has been interviewed on dozens of national radio programs and has appeared on several financial news programs such as CNBC and ABC's World News Now! to talk about his books....more